The city of Madison, Wisconsin will host its annual Pride parade this weekend, but don’t except to see any LGBTQ cops or firefighters marching in the streets.
Police officers have officially been banned from the festivities. The decision was made by OutReach LGBT Community Center has banned, who tells the Wisconsin State Journal that people felt uneasy about armed, uniformed officers participating in the parade.
Residents Shawna Lutzow and her fiancee Johana Heineman-Pieper cited concerns for people of color and other marginalized groups, if armed police officers were allowed to join the parade.
“We are not promoting police marching as a contingent, which is very different” from not allowing officers to march as plainclothes, unarmed individuals with other organizations or from attending the parade as a spectator, says Heineman-Pieper.
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Lutzow adds that the decision to ban uniformed officers is a step in the right direction in making people of color and marginalized groups feel included in their community.
But not everyone is happy about it.
Madison police Lt. Brian Chaney Austin, who founded Madison Police Department Pride, says he’s “disappointed” by the decision.
“There were some hearts broken (by OutReach’s decision), there were some tears shed, but we know there’s work that needs to be done and we want to take that on,” he said.
In response, the Madison Fire Department issued a statement saying it would skip out on marching in the parade as a show of “solidarity” with the police department.
“In light of the disappointing decision by OutReach to rescind the invitation to the Madison Police Department to participate in this year’s Pride Parade, the Madison Fire Department, in solidarity with our women and men in blue, must respectfully and regretfully decline to participate in this year’s parade,” the department stated.
Police will still be on site as security for Madison Pride. The OutReach LGBT Community Center has also invited plainclothes, unarmed officers to attend with their friends and families.
BCbreeze
What a sad day when the Left has turned away our own, and friends and family in uniform that wants to support us. Is this way we celebrate Pride now? Great job people of Madison. This is why we can’t have nice things.
MacAdvisor
I can understand not allowing an armed continent to march. That makes perfect sense and seems a most sensible rule. I think preventing officers from wearing their uniforms is ludicrous and silly. That we can now wear the uniforms of the police and military is part of why we marched in the first place. The standard answer when one group doesn’t want another group at the party is sorry you won’t be participating. I think the organizers should have told the officers to not bring their guns and the complaining groups they can rejoice with all or stay home.
Brian
Agreeing with Mac. The armed officers should be on-duty and there for security. The people having fun inside the parade should not be marching with loaded weapons.
Gigi Gee
What a sad day when you can’t, or refuse to, understand how your marginalized brothers and sisters of color have been mistreated by members of law enforcement community “This is why we can’t have nice things,” Typical. Make it all about you and what makes you happy.
Polaro
Gigi, do you often throw the baby out with the bath water? What an ill-conceived piece of liberal nonsense.
barkomatic
By including uniformed police in Pride Parades, we have established a valuable rapport with them over the years which has resulted in increased attention to and prosecution of hate crimes toward LGBTQ people. By now excluding them we are essentially slapping a hand that we *asked* to be extended to us after years of activism. This is another reckless by those who are trying to realign our community with extremists.
In general, these sentiments have the potential to backfire both in terms in how the police relate to our community as well as the LGBTQ community’s unity with and support of progressive causes.
DCguy
Oh look, one of the anti-LGBT accounts is on here ranting about “The Left”. The weird thing is, I never saw you complaining when an LGBT person got bashed, or a politician voted against our rights.
fur_hunter
You are so correct. What if there are some damn violent protestors who create problems? If the police are in the parade, they are already there. How is it that the committee didn’t think of that before banning them. Totally narrow-minded.
Wolfie
But they have no problem with having police on hand at the march and in the crowd in case there is problems. LGBT police officers are just as much a part of our community as our “poor marginalized brothers and sisters” who pulled this power-play
Billysees
” What a sad day when the Left has turned away our own, and friends and family in uniform that wants to support us. Is this way we celebrate Pride now? ”
Excellent comment BCbreeze. Perfect attitude.
Paco
Are we building bridges or burning them?
fur_hunter
THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!
Vince
I’m at a complete loss wondering why excluding them makes people of color feel less marginalized.
dtlajim
Many people of color feel powerless. This is an unhealthy way of exerting power, by excluding people and defacto segregation. Next year there will be another demand from people of color to exclude/segregate others from pride and leaders will be guilted into bowing down to that new demand. The irony that my community is doing this is depressing.
OrchidIslander
@dtlajim, why would you assume that people of color are the ones demanding the exclusion of police officers? The OutReach LGBT Community Center is very much operated and run by whites. From the online interviews, those interviewed and supporting the policy have also been overwhelmingly white. Wisconsin police have been roundly condemned and criticized for incidents of shooting unarmed citizens of all colors. In several instances, rightly so. However, don’t blame people of color, it seems far more likely that white liberalism is at work here.
Gigi Gee
@Vicne — Perhaps if you talked to POC and asked how they feel you’d be better educated on the subject.
Gigi Gee
*@Vince (why can’t these comments be edited?)
Polaro
@Gigi Gee maybe you should talk to real gay men and lesbians to educate yourself on the cause, our cause, not your cause.
Vince
@Gigi Gee. Well, I notice many of the comments here happen to be POC and they think it’s ridiculous too. Not really sure what your point is.
JAWIWA
This is not de facto segregation. This is creating a safe environment for all. Black Lives Matter, Brown Lives Matter, blue’s a job; that shit don’t matter. Until every single cop learns that they need to stand up to the racists, homophobes, transphobes, spouse batterers, among the law enforcement community, publicly and privately; until every police department starts replacing their union heads with people who aren’t white supremacists; until the “blue wall of silence” is torn town completely, cops do not belong in civil rights marches, which is what Pride marches are and should be. Until, cops reform themselves, THEY cannot have nice things. And point of information, Fire Departments are just as racist and homophobic as Police departments and the queer cops and firefighters do nothing about that racism. Groups like the Gay Officers Action League only care about making things better within the force for LGBT cops; they do virtually NOTHING to make policing better for Black, Brown, Queer, Female, or Trans civilians. They are complicit in every bad act because they do not take a stand against any bad acts that do not affect them personally.
Mick406
People of color and many others want a nation without any laws. Their only ‘marginalization’ comes because of having no respect for authority and not wanting to live by civilized rules. When you commit the vast majority of crimes it is the job of the police to become involved. Therefore, people of color don’t want them around because they enjoy living in chaos and violence. We are a nation of laws, and those who thwart the laws and violate civil obedience have an artificial and imagined feeling of hatred for the police who protect us ALL from the miscreants. You should only have fear of the police when you know you are doing something wrong. Certain elements of society don’t want police because they stop their crime.
PinkoOfTheGange
For decades we worked to get the departments into the Parade, and they got some of the loudest cheers.
Now they get dis-invited.
What a bizarro world this is becoming.
Brian
Really? At my local pride parade this year, the law enforcement contingents (there were multiple) received obviously the least cheers. It was a shocking, stark difference. The churches and corporations got much more cheers than the cops. I almost felt embarrassed for their sake.
Billysees
Excellent comment from PinkoOfTheGange.
For decades we worked… and What a bizarro world this is becoming……….yes.
unclemike
*expect
Don’t we want our community to see how many LGBTQ-friendly officers there are?
JAWIWA
Not if they are also cowards about taking a public stand against the systemic racism and homophobia in law enforcement as relates to how their colleagues deal with Black, Brown, Queer and Trans citizens.
Mack
I really have a problem with excluding LGBTQ police officers. They are just as much a member of our community as anyone else. It’s just the job they have. There will always be someone who has a problem with someone else. Get over it.
Gigi Gee
“Get over it.” They said that to Rosa Parks,, too.
Polaro
No, Gigi, you get over it. Burn your bridges elsewhere.
DCguy
They aren’t excluded. They are just not being allowed to march while carrying weapons.
MikeE
@DCGuy: they are being asked to only attend as civilians, no guns, no uniforms either.
In other words, they are being asked to be “invisible” if they want to participate.
Doesn’t the IRONY make you want to slap someone?
Vince
@MikeE. Yep. That sounds like being excluded to me.
Vince
@Polaro. Gigi doesn’t believe in building bridges. It doesn’t fit in with her persecution complex.
HaguePeter
When you wan to change an organisation, is it not better to work with them then to exclude them?
gaimingfoxer
I’m sorry, but this is beyond stupid. There’s no reason to ban officers from attending and whatever knows that it took YEARS to get police officers to support the community instead of harassing them.
Not to mention how stupid the whole thing is. The whole point of the pride parade is that we want to be inclusive and we want to show that we’re not going anywhere. It’s a chance for people – gay or straight – to march together. To celebrate freedom and welcome each other.
How is excluding people helps this cause?
I would think that this would give LGBTQ cops and minorities actual common ground? Something they might actually bond over?
Nope, let’s just stupidly ban people. Makes a lot of sense.
What’s next? Some LGBTQ jews are afraid of LGBTQ muslims (or vice versa) so we ban one group from coming?
Gigi Gee
Lemme guess…white?
JohnnyCockets
Madison police department we invite you to join the SF PRIDE PARADE next year, ours has passed this year. Please don’t let this decision make you feel excluded from our community as a whole. We are grateful for your support and we support you.
MacAdvisor
Great idea. I love SF Pride and this would be a terrific gesture by the committee.
Prax07
I’m not getting why the outrage over not wanting guns carried in the parade. My understanding is that they didn’t want the police officers in the parade in uniform and carrying weapons, which may have upset some of the other people in the parade. The officers could have marched wearing plain clothes thought right?
Would people in other professions be wearing their work uniforms and carrying the tools they use as well as the officers? Would butchers be wearing their bloody aprons and carrying knives? Would hairdressers be wearing aprons and carrying scissors? Would the firefighters be carrying buckets of water and axes? See my not understanding why this is a problem?
MikeE
They are also being told they cannot march “as a contingent”.
They can march individually, as parts of other groups, etc… but not as a contingent of police officers, even in civilian clothing.
They are, ironically, being asked to be “invisible” if they want to participate.
Now do you understand where the problem is?
It would be like butchers or hairdressers or firefighters being told they can participate, but not as a group.
inbama
“not as a contingent”
Yes, that is exactly what the Catholic Church did to Irish gays in the St. Pat’s.
There’s a time-honored word for this – bigotry.
PLAYS WELL WITH OTHERS
If the cops are showing up, they support us and wish to protect us from those who use idiotic excuses to harm us. Only those who have a reason to fear the Police would cry about their presence.
The entire Board governing the parade should be ashamed AND REPLACED!
Billysees
Great comment —
If the cops are showing up, they support us…
khan72
AMERICA – what happened to you. What the world is seeing is a society slowly exploding into tribes and finally into individuals. If we as a tribe start regretting the people who support us we are alone again, everything that we have faught and died can be taken from us. . Niemöller poem nails it “ then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me”
MacAdvisor
This is a test post.
GayVeteranUSAF
A stupid stupid decision. I’m from Orlando. You’ll wish like hell you had included uniformed and armed officers when some nut decides to terrorise your parade. The audacity of collectively begging America for inclusion only to segregate others from inclusion is pathetic. Sick sick sick and shameful. If you fear an armed GAY police officer, maybe it’s you the parade should do without. I don’t know how this isn’t such an outrage that any board member voting for this wasn’t tossed out on their ass. You’re making US of all people look like elitists, arrogant, and prejudicial. IM NOT GOING TO THIS EVENT NOW. I WILL NOT SUPPORT A BAN ON OUR OWN BRAVE PEOPLE.
Rocinante
This is what makes us liberals (all of us) look crazy. I understand working together with the friendly groups of the LGBT community, but this is too far. These are policemen and they carry guns, most of the time for good. To exclude them for this, is asinine. Just say, we don’t want the police, a group it’s taken years for the LGBT to improve relations with. Not smart.
I don’t know what a good method would be to show solidarity with other groups, but exclusion isn’t one.
Polaro
You got that right. These nuts are doing everything they can to keep the republicans in power with their nonsense, over-the-top liberal hysteria. This includes all this gender neutral – total denial of reality stuff that will galvanize the right.
Donston
I don’t really care what goes on at a Pride parade. It’s just not my scene. But I will say that there is so much obsession with mostly shallow and hollow attempts at inclusion, placating everyone and making everyone feel welcomed that it frequently leads to greater division and more exclusion.
balitraveler
Hmmmm
JessPH
Next, they’ll ban cisgender white men because their presence intimidates trans and people of color.
And, no, I am not a white guy.
Polaro
You got that right. They will actually want to ban gays and lesbians too. Trying to take over the movement with their nonsense. I wish they would go back to being Goths.
Black Pegasus
Yet another example of how illiberal whites have ruined the leftist agenda within the LGBT platform. I can no longer identify with these people. Law abiding LGTB people of color support law enforcement. Who are these people who claim to speak for us?
hatleyde
I agree with the firefighters in not showing up. I think all Military, Police, Firefighter and any government service employees should boycott the entire event. Pride comes in many forms however this is about LGBT pride. Gays are in all professions and work in all areas of both public and private jobs. The organizers should be ashamed of their treatment of gay police.
Lacuevaman
DAMN GaGa Goo,…. how many bites at the apple are you gonna try to get? take your cra cra azz back up on the porch and rock in that chair and mumble to yourself.
Police carry guns in America. I’d sure like to have them around AND armed if and when another James Alex Fields Jr. shows up.
DCguy
If D.A.’s prosecuted cops for bad behavior without the case having to be filmed and getting national attention, and if that B.S. blue line that prevented cops from reporting bad behavior went away I have a feeling this wouldn’t be an issue.
But sorry, every time there is a case of an officer who shot some guy in the back, there are always a few similarities.
1. The officer had either already been quietly pushed out of a different Police department for similar behavior but they didn’t “Fire” him so he could get another job.
2. There were other officers standing around who saw what the officer did and allowed it to happen or didn’t report him.
3. Internal investigations cleared them before national outrage forced the D.A. to take the case.
Howard Roark
yeah, sure. that.
How about:
1) young black males not shooting up neighborhoods and killing kids.
2) young black males not joining gangs.
3) young black males not fathering kids and then not staying around to raise them or support them.
Oh, but it is all whiteys fault. It is all the police’s fault. Young black males are just automatons, forced to be bad because of whitey oppression and bigotry. They have no self control or free will. We must utterly forgive them when they break the law, because, really, it is all whitey’s fault.
Polaro
Nothing to do with the story, but nice try. Letting gay and lesbian cops in the parade in uniform is exactly what we need to break the cycle. You are so predictably obtuse.
Ryuun12
This is stupid. We can’t demand acceptance then at the same time banish people we don’t like.
These people want to support us, let them! All you’re doing is making them not want to support us anymore.
And the messed up thing is, wasn’t earlier in the year a guy had weapons in his car and planned an attack on a Pride Parade? And guess what, Police Officers stopped him before he could. So one, now without Armed Security, we are more at risk for some crazy asshole to try and harm us, and two, this is how we thank people who obviously saved lives?
In case anyone wants to ask: https://www.timesofisrael.com/man-arrested-for-threatening-to-attack-gay-pride-parade/
So all you’re doing is pushing people away from supporting us, and removing protections that we need.
Billysees
Excellent comments Ryuun12…
This is stupid. We can’t demand acceptance then at the same time banish people we don’t like.
These people want to support us, let them! All you’re doing is making them not want to support us anymore.
So all you’re doing is pushing people away from supporting us, and removing protections that we need.
fur_hunter
WE….who 8ITCH and moan about being EXCLUDED….are NOW the ones EXCLUDING! What the F*CK is that? MORONS!
Frankie James
Madison – You BLEW IT !!!!
Why in the world would you ban our allies from Pride? You seem to forget there was a time not so long ago when we could not count on Police Protection, much less proud participation in our parades.
No matter the reason you BLEW IT! No Police are perfect and clearly there are issues that need fixing, but the individual cops who have caused more harm than good with minority communities are far and few compared to the rest.
Now let’s not read any future articles here or else where with y’all whining about how / when the police don’t show up to assist when you need them. Oh but wait, I suspect that will never happen as Police protect and serve.
Here in Charlotte NC at the Pride Parade this weekend, we had cops armed and fire personnel everywhere. It was a wonderful day for all of us… Black, White, Asians, Latinos, Str8 and Gay! I wish they had marched in our Parade; I have no doubt they would have received a standing ovation.
You BLEW IT Madison!
fur_hunter
Frankie…..YOU are Soooooo CORRECT. They TOTALLY blew it. A chance to forge bonds with law enforcement and firefighters…but NOOOOOOOO….they had to EXCLUDE them. IMBECILES!! And I don’t want the first one of those morons complain in the future about being EXCLUDED from ANYTHING!!!!
Billysees
Beautiful account of your Pride Parade in Charlotte NC.
Mick406
Using the moniker of ‘people of color’ . . . explains it all. Blacks caused this. They resent law and order. i know. I’ll get blasted for this, but it wasn’t necessarily the ‘leftists’ or liberals who caused it. It was most assuredly caused by complaints from the ‘people of color’. They are the self-ordained enemy of the police, and blame them for for when they are arrested. We are becoming blind to this movement. It is the disregard for law and order that drives the ‘people of color’. They want to be wild and roam free to shoot, steal, and attack innocent people. They hate the police because they reign them in.
unreligious
How exactly is this any different from when New York St Patrick’s day parade said gays could march as a part of other groups without anything identifying them as gay and not as a independent group? For so many years gay people worked to get police and fire departments to accept us and to work with us. Now because a few people feel they should not have to see cops because they are uncomfortable we are undoing all that work. These people with heightened sensitivities should have been around forty years ago when the police were cracking open the heads of gay people. Burying your head in the sand and demanding that you don’t ever have to feel uncomfortable is not a blue print for understanding between the police and others. Perhaps Gigi Gee the communities of color should work to build bridges to the police departments the way gay people did rather than erect walls.
Howard Roark
The parade organizers really messed up badly here. The huge majority of LGBT participants want the police to be able to march as a unit. We’ve made valuable improvements in our relationship with the police, so let’s not spoil it.
The organizers banned uniformed armed police because they believed that their presence would intimidate some minority participants. This is probably a bit true, but I suspect it is exaggerated. But, remember, this is an LGBT parade, not a Black Lives Matter parade. Why have the organizers taken it upon themselves to assume that the LGBT community wants to be aligned with the BLM movement? That was presumptuous. Also, why are the parade organizers disrespecting police officers collectively, as if they are all abusers of police authority. Remember, these are LGBT officers and allies. They are voluntarily choosing to participate in the parade in uniform to show solidarity.
What next? Will the LGBT parade organizers force an alignment with the animal rights groups? or environmentalist groups? or immigration groups? or anti-war groups? etc, etc. Many of these are admirable groups, but why should they be glommed onto our parade? Especially in ways that exclude or alienate our own LGBT participants?
JAWIWA
Yeah, a huge majority of White, middle-class, cis-gender participants who wouldn’t understand the notion that ALL historically oppressed people need to stand in solidarity in the world we live in under this fascist, racist, homophobic, transphobic, xenophobic, misogynist madman currently occupying the oval. And that means that you oh-so-comfortable White, cis, gays need to step up and realize that even if you have it nice when it comes to interactions with the police, there are huge swaths of our communities who are REGULARLY brutalized by thugs in blue. Check your privilege and your dismissal of the lives of queer people of color and trans people of any appearance.
justgeo
Submission=bull shit hypersensitivity of pride leaders self guilt WTF the guns are part of the uniform.
Lets make men walk without their dick free maybe in a chastity belt—-cuz some women are threatened. Total bull shit. Context is everything and not everyone.
Seamus66
And the beat goes on…
Ashke113
Typical of the gay community to ban members of it’s own. How low we’ve become when we ban out and proud men & women police officers just because they’re armed, all because some people don’t feel comfortable. Way to promote unity there you idiots and way to show the straight community how inclusion is done, guess we can no longer bitch to the straight community when we are excluded from something because we’ve now done it to ourselves. We are now officially our own worst enemy in everyone’s eyes and have now gaybashed ourselves——gee what a great time to be a homo……
djmcgamester
It’s crap like this why I often feel like I don’t fit with the LGBT community.
Wolfie
Gee. I wish that these people who put so much time and effort into banning Police from PRIDE would put as much time and effort into fighting for FULL FEDERAL CIVIL RIGHTS for the LGBT Community. You know. Something worthwhile.
Howard Roark
JAWIWA, It is ONLY your opinion that, to quote you,
“ALL historically oppressed people need to stand in solidarity….” Most LGBT people don’t really agree with your stridency. In your post, you demean white people, cis-gendered people and middle class people. So you are judging the majority of white, middle-class cis-gendered people based on your preconception of their morality. You are a left-wing bigot, JAWIWA. Stop judging everyone around you, and thereby, signaling your own moral superiority.
Please stop using cliches, like “check your privilege”. It signals that your remarks are derivative. It is also boring.
I get it. You don’t like middle-class, white cis-gendered people. so what.
djmcgamester
Wow. Intolerance from the extreme left. Shocker. Way to make these cops feel like they’re not a part of the LGBT community. Honestly, in Madison, WI, I’d probably be happy to have armed police officers marching. If nothing else, they’d be prepared to protect other marchers.
youarekiddingme
JAWIWA, You are so full of sh!t with your cis-gender, bullish!t titles for every classification of person (other than your own) that your views are entirely transparent.
Wake up.
As Howard Roark said above you don’t like middle-class white people. Ok. Big, fu@king deal. I don’t particularly like your opinion either.
“There are huge swaths of our community that are regularly BRUTALIZED by thugs in blue.” Perhaps you can help me with that statement…What is a “Huge Swath?”
1. Can you define a number or percentage (i.e., Huge Swath) of the LGBTQ Community (and cite a source of your information)? I have seen no news or other reports of such things going on.
2. What exactly does BRUTALIZE mean (your definition) or the definition used to come with your “Huge Swath” statement?
Ashke113
JAWIWA your long winded and over worked explanation is total bullshit. If those that were uncomfortable having armed gay officers proudly marching, how do they feel about armed straight officers standing on the sidelines? People who say they are uncomfortable with the situation are just whiners who want it their way, and if they were truly uncomfortable they would’ve left the parade with the numerous armed officers up and down the streets protecting them. The organizers of the parade just gave in to avoid hurt feelings, and in doing so caused more hurt feelings and alot of bad press.